


The Constant

by kathryne



Series: An ordinary hand [2]
Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: Commitment, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Post-Season/Series 04, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 20:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13725654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathryne/pseuds/kathryne
Summary: It's hard, not knowing what's going to happen next, but it's clarifying, too, showing them what's really important.Part of a post-s4 series of ficlets from tumblr prompts about Grace and Frankie cuddling.  These fics are not posted in chronological order, but they are organised that way within the series.





	The Constant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [veroniquemagique](https://archiveofourown.org/users/veroniquemagique/gifts).



> Veroniquemagique gave me a few cuddling prompts, and I combined 'in public' and 'in the water' for this one.
> 
> Many thanks to chainofclovers for beta duties!

"Do you want to go – " Grace started, and that was as far as Frankie let her get before bouncing up off the couch. She'd been wiggling and squirming, trying to work out the right combo of moves to make the squeaky springs play "Hotline Bling." She wasn't getting anywhere, and the interruption was welcome. 

"Yes," Frankie said, "yes, yes," and then she noticed the insulated lunch bag Grace was holding and her excitement grew. She'd take any excuse to get out of their cramped rental apartment, but food – food Grace had made, and thus might actually eat – made everything better. 

"That was easy." Grace looked surprised but pleased at Frankie's immediate interest. 

"Yeah, I trust you," Frankie said, and Grace went pink. "You wanna share anyway? Tell me, what'cha got in mind for us today?"

Grace bit her lip like she didn't want to answer after all. "I thought – well, it's such a nice day, and I... I wanted to go to the beach. Our beach."

"Oh." That was kind of a surprise. Grace rarely mentioned the beach or appeared nostalgic in any way. She shied away from comparisons between then and now, and Frankie'd stopped making them. So to suggest they go back home, even to the public stretch of beach nearby... it was either the start of a new self-care routine or a sign Frankie needed to step up her game in trying to be there for this ever more brittle version of Grace. Either way, there was only one choice.

"Sounds great." Frankie grinned and reached out, squeezing Grace's arm. "Let me get my geodes."

Grace didn't even roll her eyes.

Frankie hurried.

It wasn't the same, going to the beach instead of living there. Frankie had to haul cheap plastic chairs to the car and then onto the sand; it was the middle of the week and not too busy, but she missed the privacy of their own backyard. Still, once she got everything set up, the ocean was the ocean, and the shrieks of young kids enjoying the water spoke to her own inner child. 

And Grace... Grace _relaxed_ , sitting under their wobbly umbrella, staring out at the horizon. The sun through the rainbow panels threw colour over her skin, and Frankie's fingers itched for a paintbrush. At first she wasn't sure why her soul felt so buoyant at the sight. Then the wind shifted, ruffling Grace's hair, and Frankie was catapulted back to a moment, just over a year ago, that still ranked as one of the happiest of her life. Their balloon.

Before Frankie could say anything, Grace stood, digging her bare toes into the sand. She placed her half-empty plate on her chair and set off towards the water, dodging a couple oblivious joggers. Frankie watched her walk into the surf and stop, then got up to follow her.

She paused just behind Grace, resting a hand on her lower back, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts. Grace leaned into her and Frankie stepped closer, sliding her arm around Grace's waist. The waves tickled at their toes.

"I miss it," Grace said, the words pulled out of her as the tide pulled away.

 _Me too_ , Frankie thought, but instead she said "I know," and Grace wrapped her arm around Frankie's shoulders, drawing her closer still.

"You're still sure?" Grace asked. It wasn't like her to repeat herself, but God knew they'd changed over the last few months. And Frankie appreciated the check-in. It was different from when the kids used to do it, back before they stopped asking at all – like they'd just been waiting for her to realise she was wrong and needed an easy out to admit she'd changed her mind. Grace wanted to be certain Frankie had considered their options, that's all.

And maybe she wanted a little reassurance herself.

"Yeah, I am." She laced her fingers through Grace's where they lay on her shoulder. "It wouldn't be right, would it?" She shrugged, the movement shifting them both.

"It would feel... the house was _ours_ , it was _ours_ ," Grace burst out, her entire body vibrating. "Not mine, not yours, and not – not _charity_. I won't be _placated_ like that."

Frankie'd heard it all before, every time they went over the implications of Nick's offer to give Grace the house. Today, the breeze in her hair and the water washing over her feet just reminded her what they'd lost, and it was harder to remember why they shouldn't take him up on it. Hell, he could afford it.

Grace was right, though. Even if she ultimately put the title back in both their names, it'd be her house in a way it wasn't before. It wouldn't make things better.

But still, if Frankie said she wanted that house and only that house, she knew Grace would try and make it happen. So she could wait, for now. So what if she didn't have their couch with her butt-groove in it, or her studio, or the ocean. She had that certainty. The rest would come.

Grace didn't look at her, but Frankie felt every word. "If we have to, we can start over, right?"

Start over? Frankie laughed, a short sharp _ha_ that cut across the sound of the breaking waves. Grace stiffened, and Frankie shook her head. "Don't be silly, Grace."

"What? Frankie – " Grace tried to pull away, but Frankie held her tight, suddenly realising how her dismissal might've sounded.

"No, no, I mean..." She searched for words. "Honey, there's no starting over. We're just gonna keep going. We'll get through it, that's all."

"Oh. Oh, Frankie." Grace stumbled and turned, throwing both arms around Frankie. "Don't _scare_ me like that."

Frankie wrapped herself around Grace too, bony ribs be damned. "I'm not going anywhere," she said, answering Grace's unspoken plea. "It'll be okay."

The waves licked up around their ankles and they sank deeper into the sand, but neither pulled away. The ground shifted; they held each other upright.


End file.
